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A comparison of bioelectrical and mechanical activity of the female urethra
1King's College Hospital, London.
Objective:
To determine the relationship between mechanical function and innervation of the urethra in order to clarify the effect of denervation and reinnervation on urethral function.
Design:
Prospective observational study.
Setting:
Tertiary referral urodynamics unit.
Subjects:
Thirty-six women, 21 with urinary symptoms and urodynamically proven genuine stress incontinence and 15 without urinary symptoms.
Interventions:
All women underwent concentric needle electromyography of the urethral sphincter and urethral pressure profilometry at rest and during cough induced stress.
Results:
Significant correlations were found between variables indicating denervation and reinnervation and improved resting urethral function. No correlation was found between these variables and urethral function under stress.
Conclusions:
Our findings contradict current opinion that denervation of the urethral sphincter is associated with a reduction in the sphincteric function of the urethra, at rest or during stress, and suggest that denervation cannot therefore be a major aetiological factor in the development of genuine stress incontinence.